Local man in Montgomery County jail on attempted murder, other pending charges

NOKOMIS — An area man is currently in jail as a response to a domestic disturbance incident that occurred during the evening hours of Thursday, June 24.

Deputies from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department responded to the incident report at 22204 East 20th Road in rural Nokomis.

An unspecified 40-year-old female reported that she had been battered by her 57-year-old boyfriend Barry E. Spears. The victim also reported that Spears had damaged her vehicle with a baseball bat.

When deputies arrived on the scene, Spears drove a concrete mixing truck in the direction of a deputy, crashing into the trunk of a patrol vehicle. After deputies commanded him to stop, but he fled from the truck to the residence.

Repeated commands for Spears to leave the residence were refused. It was during this time that smoke could be visibly seen coming from the home as Spears started a fire inside. As flames continued to spread, deputies continued to communicate with Spears and were eventually able to convince him to leave the residence.

Once outside, Spears resisted arrested and was apprehended by deputies and the K-9 unit. He was later revealed to be in possession of a firearm, which was seized.

County deputies received additional assistance from Nokomis Police Department, Litchfield Police Department, Hillsboro Police Department Christian County Sheriff’s Department, Macoupin County Sheriff’s Department, Illinois Conservation Police, and the Illinois State Police.

The Witt Fire Department crew, with mutual aid from Nokomis, Raymond-Harvel, Fillmore, Morrisonville, Pana, Coffeen, and Stonington fire departments, were able to extinguish the fire, which caused heavy damage to the home. Additional crews from the Nokomis-Witt and Raymond-Harvel ambulance services, Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, and Montgomery County Animal Control responded to the scene.

Spears was transported to Montgomery County Correctional Center, held on a charge of first-degree attempted murder, and is facing pending charges of domestic battery, criminal damage to governmental property, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He is held on a $300,000 bond.

Montgomery County State’s Attorney Andrew Affrunti filed the attempted murder charge with the remaining pending charges to be filed later.

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